Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer

Every victim has the right, on request, to information about (a) the criminal justice system and the role of victims in it; (b) the services and programs available to them as a victim, including restorative justice programs; and (c) their right to file a complaint for an infringement or denial of any of their rights under this Act.

Canadian Victims Bill of Rights

Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University

I feel privileged to teach and supervise students – future justice workers. Although I teach on a variety of topics, one particular agenda I always include within my curriculum is to inspire students to put compassion and empathy in their toolboxes. I want my students to realize that each of us has a story – we know someone who struggles with addiction, sexual assault, mental illness, or is in an abusive relationship … or maybe it’s us. And how people treat us, how people make us feel, has a huge impact on the way we navigate in this world and deal with trauma. And how we treat our clients is the same: how we make them feel will make a difference in how they recover and how they reintegrate back into society. Doing that with compassion and empathy will make all the difference.

Every six days a woman in Canada is killed.

Albertans have experienced sexual violence.

Sources: ACWS, 2019 and AASAS, 2020.

Areas of Scholarship & research

Feminist lens to understanding crime, social disorder, and the criminal justice system.
Intersectional examination of gendered-violence, sexual violence, and interpersonal violence.
Criminalized people and the challenges they face reintegrating into the community.
Trauma informed care and practices.
Occupational stress injuries in justice workers.
Criminal law and sentencing.
Research Associate with the University of Guelph Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence.
Research Associate with the Centre for Research on Youth at Risk at St. Thomas University. The Centre is the Eastern hub of the Students Commission of Canada/Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement.
Committee member for the Board of Directors of NextGenMen.
Canadian Sociological Association Award Adjudication Committee member.
Advisory member for the Gender-Based Violence Collective.

Education & experience

Doctorate in Sociology, major in Criminology (2007) with the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and the Albert-Ludwigs Universität both in Freiburg, Germany.
Masters of European Criminology (2000) with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium.
Prior to a career in academia, Dr. Tavcer worked for the Correctional Services of Canada in Alberta and British Columbia, as a parole officer, correctional worker, and program therapist in a violent offender treatment program.
Dr. Tavcer has served as on the Board of Directors with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary; as a researcher and advocate in various projects with the United Way of Calgary & Area, CEASE Edmonton, the Shift Program, RESET Society, Fear is not Love Shelter, and the Justice Sector Constellation of the Poverty Reduction Coalition of Calgary.